


the stranger up the tower

by Aigyptiane



Category: Fate/EXTELLA LINK - Fandom, Fate/EXTRA, Fate/strange fake
Genre: Adventurer!Charlie, M/M, Rapunzel AU, Rapunzel!Richard, i am literally in my own world in the fate fandom rn. anyway charlemagne saber on 2021 please, the super self-indulgent rapunzel au i think of on my twitter but in a coherent fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28588698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aigyptiane/pseuds/Aigyptiane
Summary: With the stranger caging him in, like a beast about to pounce on its prey, Charlemagne feels that his confidence is almost suffocating as he proposes, "How aboutIfree you, and in return,youtake me outside of this tower to see the Lantern Festival?"
Relationships: Charlemagne | Saber/Richard the Lionheart | Saber
Kudos: 4





	the stranger up the tower

**Author's Note:**

> (makes a charlerich comeback in 2021 after deleting all my charlerich fics saying i was gonna rewrite them but never got to doing that) ok anyway here's the rapunzel au nobody asked for i just pulled this out of my brain one fine morning and went "hey what if i just be deranged. go batshit wild. make 4k fanfics of my obscure as fuck otp. who will stop me. what then" and then this happened. im sorry in advance. i just think they should kiss
> 
> [I] — made some edits to make it look better :)

Charlemagne feels embarrassed to be caught so easily. He struggles against the restraints on his wrists in a futile effort to break free, and an even more futile effort to keep his pride intact.

"That's not going to work."

Before him is a man with absurdly long, golden hair, holding a… _pan? Yeah, that's… that's a pan._

He holds it above his head like a knight would when they apprehend their criminal, gallantly cornering them with their sword. Despite the tension that sits palpably between them, he looks awfully lax about the situation.

Charlemagne frowns. "Did you _really_ have to tie me down to a chair? Couldn't you have done something cooler, at least?"

The man puts the pan back to his side as he simply answers, "Safety precautions."

Charlemagne frowns even deeper, sighing in exasperation as the man turns his back on him, in contrast to what any other logical person would do when faced with "danger". _Talk about safety precautions,_ Charlie tsks at himself.

"Hey," he calls. The stranger turns abruptly, flowing streaks of golden hair swaying with the motion, bringing Charlemagne's attention to the tremendous _length_ of his hair. He catches glimpses of it scattered all around the tower, hanging from the wooden beams down to being sprawled out on the floor. Charlie has to bite back the urge to tell him to get a haircut at least, lest he wants to get hit over the head with the pan again. "Since I don't look like a threat to you _now,_ can you at least let me go?"

The man blinks. Not a moment later, without _any_ sort of second thought, he states, "I still think you're a threat."

"Then why did you just turn your back around?! Nobody turns their back around on what they deem a threat, idiot!"

"Nothing much." He turns his back on Charlemagne once more. "I simply haven't decided on what I'm supposed to do with you."

Charlemagne snaps, tapping his boots on the stone flooring with a demand to be set free bubbling in his throat. The _audacity_ of this guy to just _keep_ him here! And for what?! 

"You can't keep _me_ here forever!" he declares. Charlie groans in frustration when the ropes he struggles against don't break; then, he tries at least scooting the chair farther from the stranger - if he's going down, he'd rather go down falling off this tower than by whatever sort of sick idea this man might have in his head.

Well, it proves to be more entertainment than a valiant attempt at a dignifying end by the way the stranger turns around and chuckles at him.

"Oh, come _on!_ You can't seriously be laughing!"

"I am!"

"Ugh!" Charlemagne ceases striving for an escape, sighing as he sinks into the chair. "This is so not cool."

"Do you want to leave that badly?"

Charlemagne is taken aback by that question because _who_ in their right mind would want to stay in this stupid tower with a whack job of all people? Definitely not him. Heck, shouldn’t that be obvious?

"'Course I do," he answers.

That seems to catch his interest (whatever interest he can find in it, anyway).

The man turns to him fully, a confident smile on his face as he tucks some of his hair out of the way. "How about we strike a deal, then?" he suggests.

Charlemagne eyes him as he comes closer, pursing his lips into a tight line as his silence urges for the man to continue.

The stranger leans down, his ruby eyes catching Charlemagne's the moment they glance at each other, the space between them becoming nothing more than a few inches. With the stranger caging him in, like a beast about to pounce on its prey, Charlemagne feels that his confidence is almost suffocating as he proposes, "How about _I_ free you, and in return, _you_ take me outside of this tower to see the Lantern Festival?"

Charlemagne sits back on the chair and evades his gaze. "That's a one-sided deal. That's like one tiny favor in exchange for a really big one."

"Isn't freedom a good enough price?" The man raises a challenging eyebrow as he taps the metal pan on the spot he hit Charlemagne on moments ago. "Once you take me to the town, you can leave whenever."

Charlie blinks and realizes the blonde is right. He _isn't_ required to bring the man back according to his deal, anyway – if he gets lost then, that's this dude's business. Still, Charlemagne mulls it over, and curiosity gets the better of him before he can bother just agreeing to it. "Why do you wanna see the Lantern Festival, anyway?" he asks.

He doesn't answer. Instead, the man smiles ear to ear and leans away from his space, hair slapping Charlie along the way as he bounces off like a child about to show some sort of self-made spectacle. He holds his hands out and reveals his reply not in words, but in something else entirely; Charlemagne follows curiously until his eyes finally catch sight of a mural painted behind him, blues and purples covering the stone that constructs this tower in a masterful art piece. 

Paint dances over the walls in harmonious shades of the night sky, adorned with the little white jewels of the evening shining like the sun - but what catches Charlemagne's eye are the bright lanterns of ambers and yellows floating up into the sky, lighting up the night. They resemble the lanterns the citizens always release into the heavens in memory of the lost prince, in the hopes that, if he's out there, they will guide him home.

"I've always wanted to see the festival up close." The man sighs, a hopeful smile on his lips, "The only way I've ever seen it was through the tower's window."

Charlemagne falls silent for a moment as the stranger finally turns to him. He whispers, softly, "I'm not asking for much, am I?"

"...what's your name?"

The stranger blinks. "Richard."

"Cool. I'm Charlie, and you've got yourself a deal."

* * *

After a few harrowing minutes of debate between themselves, they finally decide on a method to get down from the tower.

That method, of course, is something no one should try at home.

"What? Are you crazy or something?"

"Hm?" Richard smiles cheerfully. "You're an all-around adventurer, right? I'm sure a fall wouldn't hurt."

Charlemagne gawks at this man's absolute _unawareness_ for danger. "Do you think I'll survive that sort of fall?!" he reasons frantically, absolutely _not_ up to testing whether he can live after falling from this height. Look, he might be an awesome adventurer and all, but deep down he's still a hundred percent human!

He doesn't have the right to complain any further when Richard pushes him off the window, chiming "careful, the fall is pretty big!" as Charlemagne plummets down to the hard ground below with an echoing scream.

…

…

…

...

"...eh?"

...why hasn't he heard the sound of bones cracking?

Charlemagne gingerly opens his eyes only to find his feet dangling halfway down the fall. He shrieks and scrambles for comfort, something to _hold_ , and he reaches for the unbelievably long strand of hair wrapped around his waist.

...wait. Hair?

"Don't tug!" comes from up above the tower.

Charlemagne's face flushes in embarrassment as he quickly lets go. From up above, he can hear Richard release a sigh of relief as he hauls Charlemagne down to the ground. The moment his toes touch the ground safely, the hair around his waist unfurls, letting him fall to his knees safely.

_Huh,_ is what Charlemagne thinks. He's going to need a few minutes to process that.

Of course, however, Richard is never keen to give him that sort of time. "I'm coming down!" comes from the tower and a protest sits in Charlemagne’s throat, ready to tell him that that is _definitely_ a terrible idea.

It dies down when Richard is already jumping off the window.

"Richard!"

He plummets down onto the ground, and the rest is a mess of hair and entanglement.

* * *

"Hm! So this is how grass feels like!" 

Charlemagne raises an exasperated eyebrow at the blonde as Richard gets all giddy about setting foot on _grass._

"Yep," he says with a halfhearted nod, too focused on slipping his leg through this particular furl of hair around it. "That's grass, alright."

Richard giggles like a child out frolicking in the sun. A childish light in his ruby eyes shines as he wiggles his toes, feeling each blade of grass with a face that looks like he's still processing how he won the biggest lottery yet.

He manages to unknot the hair around his leg as he chuckles, furrowing his eyebrows. "Never felt grass before?"

"No."

He blinks.

Charlemagne whips his head in disbelief to Richard, watching him frolic in the meadows. _He's serious…?!_ Charlemagne thinks with a frown as he notices how enamored Richard is by this common wonder, like he's never seen it in his life.

He looks away, clearing his throat. "...well, that's grass. You'll find more of it down the trail," Charlemagne intrudes, ignoring the urge to ask anymore questions to the world's most mysterious man. "Let's get going. The Lantern Festival is tomorrow night."

Richard snaps out of his own bubble and abruptly turns his head to Charlie. Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Richard immediately straightens himself (and his hair), attempting to keep a professional look.

Well, that's not going to work. Charlie feels like he's seen the extremities already.

"Of course," Richard replies with a small cough.

With an exasperated huff, Charlie begins down the hill, only to stop when something important crosses his mind.

"By the way…" Charlemagne gives Richard a side glance, moving his eyes down to his bare feet. "We need to get you some shoes."

* * *

The rest of the walk past the convenient store in a forest is filled with the sound of Richard's harmonious hum with the birds, much like any other princess in any other fairytale.

Which reminds him…

"Hey," Charlemagne calls, turning around and finding Richard looking ethereal, surrounded by birds and the soft glow of sunlight against his skin. A cheerful smile graces his face, and Charlie stops for a moment, feeling something caught up in his throat.

He doesn't realize that he’s already caught Richard’s attention. The man blinks at him in silence and the birds still, as if they, too, are waiting for what else he's supposed to say.

_Shit,_ Charlie thinks. He turns and coughs into his hand, face heating up in embarrassment. 

"Y-you look like that lost prince on the murals."

Richard frowns at that. "Lost prince?"

"Yeah." Charlemagne continues down the road once more. Richard follows shortly behind, bunching up his extremely long hair in his arms to keep it from getting tangled up in tree roots and greenery. He leans into Charlie's space, listening intently. "It sounds like your ordinary fairytale. Once upon a time, the royal couple bore a son - they say he had ruby eyes and the most beautiful smile. Then, one day, he was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?"

"Yep. Nobody knows where he is now, but ever since, the city's been commemorating the Lantern Festival on the lost prince's birthday, hoping that if he's out there, those lanterns will guide him home."

At the corner of his eye, he catches the pensive look on Richard's face as he mulls the story over, and the air thickens between them without Richard's overly-cheerful attitude to make a noise.

Charlie quickly clears his throat. "L-look, you just… look a lot how I imagined the lost prince to look like right now! You sure you aren't him?" he jokes.

Richard chuckles, seemingly shoving that information aside for later. "Oh? But don't you know that one in a million people can look just like you? I think that's a very interesting fact."

"Eh? Where's this going?"

"I'm just saying… I am most likely the prince's 'one in a million' lookalikes! Isn't that interesting?"

"Mm, that _is_ a pretty cool thing to think about...!"

* * *

A day passes before they get to the city. 

It's an awfully huge contrast from being in the forest all day, birds and fauna replaced by the buzzing hum of a bustling city. Brick and stone make for grass, and the crowds bring about flora and fruit in celebration. The entire city is decorated with red banners, adorned with the royal sigil of the kingdom, and the music of harps and the poems of bards ring in harmony with the mumble of a busy crowd.

"Aaah!"

Richard's steps come to a halt before the city, a childlike glee in his eyes as he absorbs the organized harmony of the city - from banners to fruit stalls to musicians, all forming an elaborate artwork. Charlemagne stops right beside him, a hand on his hip aa he finally breathes in city air.

"Th-this is the city?" His eyes track every single detail he can remember, in awe at every novel thing he sees.

With a smug smile on his face, Charlie nods. "Yep! Follow me."

Charlemagne walks into the crowd, beaconing for Richard to follow. "First time?" he asks.

"Definitely!" Richard laughs like a child lost in a flower field, following Charlie through the crowd - with some difficulty, of course.

"–Ow!"

"Ah, sorry–" Richard sways the other way —

"Oof!"

And the other way — "Excuse me!"

"Ouf!"

"Sorry, again!" — and the other way —

Charlemagne laughs as Richard finally stumbles over to him. "Your hair is _really_ getting in the way," Charlie sighs fondly. He helps pick up the rest of his flowing hair in a bundle, and then realizes that _wow, this is gonna be a huge fucking problem._

His brain snaps to life with an excellent idea.

"Here, come with me!"

* * *

The giggle of Richard along with a few children jumping ropes around his hair fills Charlie's ears as he bites down on an apple. He pays it no mind; he's sure they won't take long, and instead, he opts to bring his focus to the mangoes on sale at a nearby fruit stall.

The approaching of footsteps and the fading laughter of children makes Charlemagne turn around.

He almost drops his apple.

Flowers of all kinds decorate Richard’s hair like delicate tapestry, from lilacs to daisies to lavenders, forming a heavenly crown over his head. The rest of his hair is done in a simple, yet cleanly done braid reaching down to his feet, flowers dotting it all the way down. He looks like he's straight out of an artistic masterpiece, painted over a busy city, with the rays of the sun tracing his every feature like a halo.

Charlemagne feels his jaw go slack.

"Charlie? Charlie? Are you there?"

He blinks and realizes he’s probably been staring for way too long. Charlie’s face burns red, and swiftly, he turns his eyes away from the view. "Yeah," he coughs out. "I’m - I’m good. Great, actually!"

"Oh, good."

Silence falls over them awkwardly. It all makes the burning feeling up Charlie's neck hotter, now extremely conscious of the half-eaten apple in his hands or whether he looks cool enough to be here.

"...how's it?"

Charlie blinks, snaps his head to look at Richard at breakneck speed like he's been caught in the middle of a crime. "What?"

Richard chuckles. "The braid! Personally, I think the children did great with it. They were so skilled!" And then he gets lost babbling on – "They knew these sorts of things I didn't! I said I'd love to learn from them because this would be very convenient if I could keep my hair in this state, so I thought it would be beneficial if I learn it for myself–"

"...y-you look cool!" Charlie shrinks into himself, mumbling underneath his breath, "N-no, wait, that's not the right word is it? Uh–"

And yet, it's enough to get the blonde to end his surprisingly thesis-long speech on the benefits of learning how to braid. With a graceful smile, he hooks his arm with Charlie's, hurriedly declaring "let's check that out!" before rushing over to it like a cat about to pounce on its prey.

* * *

The plaza is filled to the brim with a festive air when they arrive. Richard's smile becomes even brighter as townspeople dance before them, and the musicians strum away to their hearts' content.

Richard points at a specific instrument with an eager gleam in his eyes. "They have guitars here!" Hurriedly, he turns to Charlie and asks, "Do you want to hear a tune I've thought up?"

Charlie blinks in surprise. "You thought one up?"

"Of course! I do it often in my free time! It certainly proves to be very entertaining; stringing notes together until you come up with your very own masterpiece! Sometimes I – oh!"

In the next blink of an eye, Richard slips away from his grasp, dragged along by an enthusiastic dancer to the center of the plaza.

Charlie is about to step forward and call out to him when, just in time, another line of dancers gets in his way according to their choreography. He steps back in surprise, and after a little shake, the dancers prance away.

Like curtains over a stage, the view before him is unveiled like a grand finale.

Time seems to slow before him, before the grandiose sight of Richard dancing along to the rhythm, mastering their pace in a matter of seconds. He laughs cheerfully as he switches to another partner, and the two twirl with each other.

"Charlie!" He snaps out of his daze, a warm hand wrapped around his wrist. Richard tugs at him excitedly, urging, "Come here, come here!"

_Oh,_ Charlie gulps as he glances past Richard for a second and observes all the awesomely skillful dancers at the center, Richard included. "I-I'm not much of a dancer!" he urges, trying to slip his wrist out of Richard's grasp.

"I'll teach you along the way!"

"L-look, it's gonna be–"

The beat kicks up a notch and Richard is too excited to bother continuing any negotiations, instead opting to just pull him in. Charlie almost trips on himself as he's pulled over and led to the center of the plaza.

"Here," Richard coaches, taking his other hand as well, "Follow me."

Charlie yelps as Richard brings him along, tripping over Richard clumsily as the crowd continues to dance around them, leaving them unperturbed at the center of it all. 

"One, two."

"O-one, two," he follows gingerly. The effort makes Richard smile brightly as he gasps, "You got it!"

"I-I did?!"

"I told you it was simple!"

And with that, Richard gets back to dancing, slipping away from Charlie and leaving him alone – until someone else grabs his arm and brings him along to dance. 

As he taps along to the beat, his eyes never leave Richard's, and Richard on the other side doesn't dare look away from him. They switch from partner to partner, dancing away to the quickening rhythm of the music in sync. Each twirl and step brings them closer and closer, the beat nearing its peak. 

The last note is strung, the last sway is done, until the two of them are once again together, right at the very center of the plaza. Richard dips him gracefully, the space between them nothing but mere inches. Time slows, and the unruly petals in Richard's hair fall delicately over Charlie's face as the two stop to gaze at each other.

The crowd erupts into applause. The pair snap out of their daze, once again returning to the world that isn't just the two of them.

Flowers are strewn all about, a gracious rain for all the dancers in the plaza to enjoy.

"You're an awesome dancer," Richard compliments with the biggest smile on his face, helping Charlie back up on his two feet. 

Charlie nods enthusiastically. "I could say the same for you!"

* * *

"But… the festival is over here, Charlie."

"Y-yeah, I know that, but I saw this really awesome spot! C'mon, I swear it's worth it!"

Charlie leads him away from the crowd awaiting nightfall, down to the nearby docks. The duo slip into a small forest, following an old trekking trail until before them is a quaint wooden boat. Richard raises a curious eyebrow as Charlie leads him to it, getting on and beaconing for him to follow.

"What's this?" Richard asks as he gets on.

"You'll see." 

Charlie smiles brightly and begins rowing, pushing the boat until it stands at a still center of the lake. The water beneath them reflects the setting night sky, a starless canvas. 

Richard looks up into the sky expectantly. "Can you see the lanterns from here?"

Charlie chuckles. He turns his head, letting the townspeople answer that for him instead. 

One by one, amber lights begin flying into the air, like fireflies slowly rising into the sky. Each lantern paints the night sky a brighter shade. 

Richard marvels at the sight. Like it has stolen his breath away, he leans closer to the edge of the boat, as if reaching for something that isn't within his reach, as if believing that if he holds his hand out, he'll be able to hold one for himself. The lights reflect on his rich ruby eyes and paint the blackened lake underneath them with shades of an orange sunset.

Charlie smiles fondly at the sight of the lanterns and Richard's enthusiastic smile. _Oh, right,_ he blinks, snapping out when he remembers why he brought him here.

"Almost forgot," Charlie chuckles to himself as he fumbles with something stored within the boat. The man turns, watching Charlie until he brings out a familiar looking item.

He holds the lantern in his hands delicately, presenting it to Richard. "Figured since this is your first time seeing the festival closer, so I wanted it to be worth it, you know?"

Richard's eyes sparkle with joy. "We can light one of these?" he asks as Charlie hands it over, holding it in his hands like he would with a huge marshmallow.

"'Course we can!" He holds it out for him while Charlie lights it up, bringing the lantern into warm life. The warm light of it traces Richard's face, and from this close, Charlie can truly observe the beauty in Richard's eyes as he marvels at it.

"Here." The pair take a hold of it, taking it with care. Their hands touch for a slim moment, Richard's warm underneath his. 

The lantern is pushed up into the sky, its bright flame taking it higher to join the rest of the lights up in the heavens. Richard stares, enamored as it flies higher and higher, while Charlie quietly takes in the sight of the man before him with a fond smile.

Light from the lanterns settles over them like fireflies, adamantly skimming over clean waters. Richard continues to stare up at the city's lanterns.

"Hey."

Richard turns to him. 

"What were you doing up that tower, anyway?"

The blonde chuckles as he turns back to the city lights. "I've been up there for as long as I remember, actually. This is my first time outside of it," he says.

Now it's Charlie's turn to look at him. "Really?"

"I've no reason to lie," Richard says with a shrug. A soft smile befalls his features as he continues, "So, I'm unsure how I'm to go about thanking you for all you've done for me."

Charlie shakes his head. "No, no, y-you don't have to, really! We don't have to be so formal! I had fun, too, really!"

"Sure? Then, may I ask one last favor?"

"Yeah?"

Richard doesn't reply any further. He reaches out, tracing the line of his jaw. Charlie stares for a curious moment, but follows his finger anyway, eventually catching Richard's eye. 

Seconds or minutes no longer matter in the quiet world they're in. Everything dulls down to just the two of them, right at the center of this lake surrounded by nothing but amber lanterns like candlelight.

"May I?"

His lips curl up into a wordless smile.

Charlie seals the space between them, pressing his lips against Richard's, and Richard is all but eager to let him. He wraps his arms around Charlie's neck and pulls him in closer.

What feels like minutes pass by before they let each other go. Charlie feels the heat up his neck reach his face and the same could go for Richard, too, but he's better at keeping his cool than Charlie is. 

Richard chuckles. "I enjoyed that. Take me out again sometime?"

"Of course."


End file.
